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Arrogant, bullying, entitled and totally abusing his power, Weinstein is a perfect piñata to bash with our 'impeachment now'-embossed shillelaghs.

The Harvey Weinstein scandal hurtled like an asteroid into Planet Media, with debris still flying. Fired from the company he founded, stripped of his membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, vehemently castigated by various A-listers as well as acting aspirants, and prompting a massive, extraordinary social media campaign, #MeToo, Weinstein has become a dark hole into which so many are pouring so much outrage. Why has this story been so huge? It goes without saying that his decades-long behavior has been despicable, but then we had a presidential candidate’s boast about groping women at will dismissed as “locker-room talk,” and he’s now president. And while the Roger Ailes and Bill O’Reilly harassment scandals were major stories, they were nothing like this. What has made this scandal blow up? And when the dust settles, will anything have changed?

First, it wasn’t just women; reports suggest that many men suffered verbal abuse from Weinstein and are luxuriating in schadenfreude. On a plane about 10 years ago, I met a man who had worked with Weinstein and described him as a “total prick.” Accounts have emerged of his publicly humiliating men, which bred keen, festering resentment. If it had just been women who had been harassed, assaulted and humiliated—while men had been treated with respect, even deference—would the story have had the legs it did?

Then, of course, there is one-upmanship in the media (print winning the day over a timid NBC), as well as overcompensation for years of ignoring or allegedly spiking stories about this “open secret.” Remember that, despite the increased numbers of attractive young women in sleeveless dresses on the cable news channels, the news media remains dominated by rich and powerful white men. Maybe, too, there was shame in having picked up planted smear stories about those who threatened to expose Weinstein. Ronan Farrow, author of the bombshell New Yorker story, which included far more detail than the initial New York Times exposé, says that he first pitched the piece to NBC, which declined to pursue it. Farrow noted the serial manner in which Weinstein used legal threats to suppress negative stories. Now, with the courage of so many women as a shield, those outlets that were cowards, or complicit, can trumpet their outrage and act like they’ve been championing women all along.

But perhaps the biggest reason for the public flogging of Weinstein is that he is a surrogate for Trump, the self-admitted predator we couldn’t keep out of the presidency. Yes, Weinstein is reprehensible, but Trump-the-predator is using his ill-begotten office to systematically attack immigrants, the LGBTQ community, people of color, women and people who need healthcare, while ignoring disaster victims in Puerto Rico, pillaging the environment, and taking us to the brink of war. And for the moment, we can do little to nothing about it. Weinstein is the disgusting dirt bag onto which we can project our fury and frustration. Arrogant, bullying, entitled and totally abusing his power, Weinstein is a perfect piñata to bash with our “impeachment now”-embossed shillelaghs.

While the mainstream media, with their focus on individuals and celebrity, is waiting to see which woman will come forward next and which man can be the next punching bag, more than 4 million people on Facebook, as of this writing, have posted #MeToo. These people, most of them women, don’t necessarily care which famous guy is next. They are testifying to what’s been left out of the coverage: the utter normalization of sexual harassment and assault in our society, and the rape culture that permitted Trump to get elected. So yes, it’s satisfying to excoriate Weinstein and use him to symbolically exorcise Trump, but until rape culture ceases to be a governing element of our society, all too many women will still be saying, “Me, too,” “Me, too,” “Me, too.”

#MeToo seeks to transform such behavior from “normal,” to being seen as weird, perverse, pathetic—and actionable. And to tar everyone who does it with our new term of opprobrium: “a Weinstein.”

Susan J. Douglas is a professor of communications at the University of Michigan and an In These Times columnist. Her latest book is Enlightened Sexism: The Seductive Message That Feminism's Work is Done (2010).

It's all about the empowering effect of social media. That's what's driving this movement, or allowing it finally to occur.

Posted by Mike Miller on 2017-11-01 22:21:24

Is the "Ronan Farrow, author of the bombshell New Yorker story, which included far more detail than the initial New York Times exposé" who "says that he first pitched the piece to NBC" also related to Hollywood filmmaker Woody Allen and a former U.S. State Department "special adviser" to former U.S. Secretary of State (and possible 2020 Democratic Party presidential candidate) Hillary Clinton (the wife--and former Clinton Foundation executive--of former Arkansas governor, U.S. president and Clinton foundation "philanthropist" Bill Clinton)?

According to wikipedia's entry for a "Ronan Farrow": "In 2009, Farrow joined the Obama administration as Special Adviser for Humanitarian and NGO Affairs in the Office of the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan. He was part of a team of officials recruited by the diplomat Richard Holbrooke, for whom Farrow had previously worked as a speechwriter. For the next two years, Farrow was responsible for `overseeing the U.S. Government's relationships with civil society and nongovernmental actors' in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

"In 2011, Farrow was appointed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's Special Adviser for Global Youth Issues[ and Director of the State Department's Office of Global Youth Issues. The office's creation was the outcome of a multi-year task-force appointed by Clinton to review the United States' economic and social policies on youth, for which Farrow co-chaired the working group...Farrow's appointment and the creation of the office were announced by Clinton as part of a refocusing on youth following the Arab Spring revolutions. Farrow was responsible for U.S. youth policy and programming...Farrow concluded his term as Special Adviser in 2012,.."

Posted by protestfolk on 2017-11-01 16:17:01

Lol the anti trump nuts are hilarious. This story should have been written without mentioning the president but the the deranged can't see past it. Bill Clinton anyone anyone?

Posted by cbillrun on 2017-10-31 11:08:05

How does an article that is supposed to focus on the Weinstein scandal get to revert to Trump Bashing? (I'm not saying that he isn't aligned to the sexist remarks attributed to him.) Let's focus on the real problem; does this author think Weinstein is the only culprit in Hollywood? They don't call it the "casting couch" for no reason. He is one the many examples that exist in the "entertainment" industry and many, many other places throughout the world. People in position of power regularly become the old adage: Power Corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. These people pray on the weak; if you won't submit to my wishes there are another hundred outside my door who want the opportunity and will. Ms. Douglas,, next time stick to your facts and stay on target.